A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
This invention relates generally to information exchange services in education and more particularly to computerized systems, methods and apparatus for searching for problems or problem types and providing solutions to given problems or problem types over a global computer network. In addition, this invention relates to computerized systems, methods and apparatus for searching for given math, chemistry, physics, physical science, engineering, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and computer science problems and problem types, and for providing solutions to math, chemistry, physics, physical science, engineering, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and computer science problems and problem types over a global computer network. More specifically, the present invention relates to computerized systems, methods and apparatus which enable students to instantly obtain solutions to the math, chemistry, physics, physical science, engineering, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and computer science problems contained in their textbooks or homework assignments, and to search for other math, chemistry, physics, physical science, engineering, biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, pharmacology, and computer science problems.
The present invention uses global computer networks, such as the Internet to provide students with additional help with their studies. The Internet comprises a large number of computers and computer networks that are interconnected through communication links. The Internet utilizes the TCP/IP suite of protocols, which are well-known in the art of computer networking. TCP/IP is an acronym for xe2x80x9cTransport Control Protocol/Interface Program,xe2x80x9d a software protocol developed by the Department of Defense for communication between computers.
The interconnected computers exchange information using various services, such as electronic mail, Gopher, and the World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWWWxe2x80x9d). The WWW service allows server computer systems (i.e., web server or web site) to send graphical web pages of information to remote client computer systems. A remote client computer system can then display the web pages.
Each resource, (e.g., computer or web page) of the WWW is uniquely identifiable by a Uniform Resource Locator (xe2x80x9cURLxe2x80x9d). To view a specific web page, a client computer system specifies the URL for that web page in a request (e.g., a HyperText Transfer Protocol (xe2x80x9cHTTPxe2x80x9d) request). The request is forwarded to the web server that supports that web page. When that web server receives the request, it sends that web page to the client computer system. When the client computer system receives that web page, it typically displays the web page using a browser. A browser is a special-purpose application program that effects the requesting and displaying of web pages.
Currently, web pages are typically defined using HyperText Markup Language (xe2x80x9cHTMLxe2x80x9d). HTML provides a standard set of tags that define how a web page is to be displayed. When a user indicates to the browser to display a web page, the browser sends a request to the server computer system to transfer to the client computer system an HTML document that defines the web page. When the requested HTML document is received by the client computer system, the browser displays the web page as defined by the HTML document. The HTML document contains various tags that control the displaying of text, graphics, controls, and other features. The HTML document may contain URLs of other Web pages and web sites available on that server computer system or other server computer systems.
Localized and globalized computers are growing and beginning to be the primary means of accessing information. The World Wide Web (xe2x80x9cWWWxe2x80x9d), for example, provides all who have access to it with vast amounts of information, with new information being added every second of every day. The WWW contains web sites with information about everything from South American rain forests to health and medicine to automobile sales.
The WWW began as a tool that allowed information to be accessible over a network for educational purposes. Initially, it was primarily used by universities and government entities for the purpose of sharing information. Today, it is still used most often as a means of finding and sharing information, and its most important objective is still to educate people.
The WWW contains many educational web sites with topical information for students. For example, Educational web sites, such as Encyclopaedia Britannica (EB.COM) or the Teens section of About.com, contain generalized information about different topics to help students gain knowledge and learn.
Thus, the WWW has made it possible to provide students with information twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week with few, if any, interruptions in service. That notwithstanding, there are few online resources that provide students with targeted information to assist them with their math, physics and sciences homework and to help them improve their skills therein. Furthermore, there are no online resources for providing students with instantaneous solutions to the problems in their textbooks.
In fact, there are few resources of any kind presently available that provide people with instantaneous solutions and answers to textbook problems and problem solving techniques. Teacher manuals often include solutions to the problems in student textbooks, but are not usually available to students. Tutors and teachers can also assist students with solving problems, but they are not constantly available to students, and tutors can cost as much as $75.00 per hour in many areas of the United States, and are for that reason, inaccessible to the majority of students. The textbooks themselves usually have explanations and examples, but all problems are different and so are all students. Even with the explanations and examples from a textbook, a student may not be able to understand a particular problem nor be able to determine its solution. Even scientific calculators are inadequate because 1) they require the student to input the problem, which can be a daunting exercise in itself, 2) they do not provide a step-by-step solution to the problem, 3) they are often very complicated and difficult to use and understand, and 4) they are expensive, and many students cannot afford them.
One educational resource, Pinkmonkey.com, provides an educational environment for primary school students. It provides students with study guides, reference materials, a library of books available online, and various other helpful resources. It does not, however, provide students with solutions to specific problems, nor does it provide a way to teach students how to solve particular types of problems. It is also incapable of searching for particular types of problems based on certain criteria provided by the student.
Another educational resource, Webmath.com, is composed of math xe2x80x9cfill-in-formsxe2x80x9d. A student can type into the math fill-in-form the math problem they are working on, and a math program will attempt to solve the problem for the student. The math programs in Webmath.com also provide step-by-step solutions to the problems. But, again, Webmath.com cannot solve problems unless the student undertakes the tedious and time-consuming task of inputting the math problem. Because math symbols are not on most computer keyboards, this can be very time-consuming, especially with long and complicated math problems. Like Pinkmoney.com, Webmath.com does not provide a way of searching out specific types of problems based on criteria provided by the student. Furthermore, there are no resources comparable to Webmath.com for chemistry, physics, and physical science.
Not all students are created equal, and this difference in ability creates a problem for many students who are either overly challenged or unchallenged by the curriculum and their teachers. For those who are falling behind, especially in the math and sciences, even the WWW currently does not provide sufficient educational resources. Thus, a student who does not understand a math problem, for example, has no choice but to seek assistance from parents, teachers or tutors. Typically, even educated parents themselves do not understand the problems, and teachers and tutors are often not accessible when the student needs them. The student has no choice but to struggle to no avail, or give up on the problem entirely.
Another problem is that teachers are also not created equal. Thirty percent of teachers do not even have a minor in the subject they teach. Thus, many teachers are unqualified to teach the subjects that they are assigned, and this leaves students unprepared to confront the problems that they are asked to do for homework, most of which come straight out of textbooks. And when they go home, there is often nobody there to help them when they arrive at a problem that they do not understand and cannot solve without assistance.
The described circumstances lead many children to fear or dislike particular subjects with which they are struggling. This, in turn, causes lowered self-esteem and lower grades in students that could do well in those subjects if given the proper education and resources.
Individually solving each question of each textbook used in, for example, the United States, is an unthinkable task amounting to an enormous amount of data. This is the primary reason why there currently is no Internet web site that provides solutions to the problems of a vast number of textbooks.
Therefore, a need exists for a way of providing solutions to textbook problems that do not require individually solving each problem. A need also exists for computerized systems, methods, and apparatus for providing a solution to a given problem over a global computer network. A need also exists for online resources that can search for and provide students with specific problem types targeted at those specific areas with which they are having trouble.
In accordance with the present invention, the disadvantages and problems associated with providing solutions to problems have been substantially reduced or eliminated. One innovative aspect provides a method of providing a solution to a given problem. The method includes the steps of receiving a request for a solution to a known problem, accessing a first set of data from a template object comprising a plurality of template solutions to problems, accessing a second set of data from a problem variable value set object comprising a plurality of problem variable value sets, interfacing the first set of data and the second set of data for generating a solution to the problem, transmitting the solution over a computer network. The solution to the problem can be an interim solution comprising a mathematical equation imbedded therein, and can further include the steps of providing a math computation program capable of running solutions to mathematical equations, and running the solution to the mathematical equation.
Each step can be accomplished using a computer, such as a network server or any other type of computer. Furthermore, the template object and the problem variable value set object can be stored within one database or they can be stored in separate databases. Furthermore, the problem variable value set can include value elements, such as integers, numbers or mathematical symbols, symbols associated with physics or chemistry, words, images, equations, or any figure that represents a value. The values can be taken from problems in textbooks, such as math problems, chemistry problems, physics problems, physical science problems, engineering, problems, biology problems, biochemistry problems, molecular biology problems, pharmacology problems, or computer science problems.
This method can also include the step of providing a graphical user interface comprising one or more data input fields for inputting data comprising an identifying property of a textbook. The identifying property of the textbook can be an ISBN number, the author""s name, the title of the textbook, the copyright date, the publisher, or any other identifying property or characteristic of a textbook. The graphical user interface can also include one or more data input fields for inputting data comprising an identifying property of a problem from a textbook. This can include the user""s/student""s school, class, and teacher, either manually inputted by the user/student or provided to him/her through a drop down menu. Stored in a computer readable medium is retrievable data comprising information about textbooks used by different schools, classes and even individual teachers or educators within a school.
Textbooks include conventional printed matter on paper as well as electronic textbooks. Electronic textbooks can include textbooks stored in a computer readable medium, the contents of which are accessible and viewable through various electronic devices, such as the Rocket eBook Pro(copyright) and other Pocket PC devices including the HP Jornada 545, the HP Jornada 548, the Casio E-115, the Casio EM-500, the Casio EG-80, the Casio EG-800, the Compaq iPAQ, and the Compaq Aero 1500. Electronic textbooks can also be downloaded onto personal computers and viewed and read using such software as Microsoft Reader(trademark).
In accordance with another innovative aspect of the invention, a system for providing a solution to a given problem includes a computer readable medium and a computer program. The computer readable medium can comprise a subject object having index codes, a template object having indexed template solutions to problems, each of which contains at least one variable element, and an indexed problem variable value set object including problem variable value sets, each of which contains at least one value element. The template solutions and the problem variable value sets can be associated with index codes from the subject object. Furthermore, a value element can be a value from a problem in a textbook. The subject object can include a number of subject topics in varying degrees of specificity, each of which is associated with an index code. Each subject topic can have an exposition associated with it, and the exposition can have an index code corresponding to the index code of its associated subject topic.
The computer program can be capable of matching an index code associated with a template solution with an index code associated with a problem variable value set and replacing a variable element with a value element to form a solution to a problem. And, the system can further include a second computer program capable of real-time math computation to solve mathematical equations.
The system can also include a graphical user interface having data input fields for inputting data comprising identifying properties of textbooks, and the computer readable medium can include a textbook object having data including identifying properties of textbooks. The identifying properties of textbooks can include ISBN numbers, author names, titles, copyright dates, publishers, or any other identifying properties or characteristics of a textbook. And, again the graphical user interface can include a drop down menu or open input fields concerning information about the user""s/student""s school, class and teacher, and the textbook can be identified based on such information.
The system can also include a graphical user interface having data input fields for inputting data comprising identifying properties of problems from textbooks, and the computer readable medium can include a textbook problem object having data including identifying properties of textbook problems. The identifying properties of problems can include problem numbers, page numbers from textbooks, and any other identifying properties.
Another innovative method of providing solutions to given problems includes the steps of providing a textbook object, providing a subject object, providing a textbook problem object, providing a template object, providing a problem variable value set object, providing a first computer program, providing a second computer program, receiving a request for a solution to a problem, accessing a template solution, using the first computer program to form an interim solution to the problem, wherein the interim solution includes a mathematical equation imbedded in it, using the second computer program to solve the mathematical equation, and transmitting the final solution over a computer network. This embodiment can also include graphical user interfaces as described above.
Each of the objects can be stored in computer readable memory well-known by those skilled in computer and software engineering. The textbook object can include data such as identifying properties of textbooks, which can include ISBN numbers, author names, titles, copyright dates, publishers, or other identifying properties. The subject object can include index codes and subject topics in varying degrees of specificity, each of which is associated with an index code. The textbook problem object can include data such as identifying properties of textbook problems. Such identifying properties can include index codes or problem numbers. The template object can include various template solutions, each of which can contain a variable element. Each template object can also be associated with an index code from the subject object. The problem variable value set object can contain problem variable value sets, each of which can contain a value element. Each problem variable value set object can also be associated with an index code from the subject object.
There can be various permutations for each template, each permutation corresponding to a different approach to solving a problem. Thus, the index code for each permutation of a particular template can further include an approach-identifier that is unique to that approach of problem solving. These approaches correspond with different ways of thinking, and provide students with alternative ways of solving problems.
The first and second computer programs are capable of various actions. The first computer program can be capable of matching like index codes and replacing variable elements from the template solutions with value elements from the problem variable value sets. Thus, the interim solution to the problem is formed by using the first computer program to replace variable elements with value elements. The second computer program can be capable of real-time math computation. Thus, the final solution to the problem can be formed by using the second computer program to run a solution to a mathematical equation imbedded in the interim solution.
In another innovative aspect, a method of providing a solution to a given problem includes the steps of providing a template object having template solutions, each of which contains a variable element as described above, providing a problem variable value set object having problem variable value sets, each of which contains a value element as described above, providing a computer program capable of replacing variable elements with value elements, receiving a request for a solution to a problem, and replacing a variable element from one of the template solutions with a value element from one of the problem variable value sets to form a solution to the problem. This method can also include the step of providing a graphical user interface having data inputs for inputting data comprising identifying properties of textbooks. Furthermore, this method can include the step providing a graphical user interface comprising data inputs for inputting data comprising identifying properties of problems from textbooks.
In another innovative aspect a computer readable medium of instructions is provided. The computer readable medium of instructions can include a first data structure, a second data structure, and a computer program. The first data structure can have a first set of information relating to a problem from a textbook. The first set of information can include value elements corresponding to values given in problems in textbooks. The second data structure can have a second set of information relating to a solution to a type of problem. The second set of information can include variable elements.
The computer readable medium of instructions can also include a third data structure including a third set of information relating to a type of problem. The information in the third data structure can include instructional expositions.
The computer program can be capable of controlling a computer to search the first, second, or third set of information for designated information provided by a designator and informing the designator when the designated information has been found. The computer program can also be capable of linking the first set of information with the second set of information to form a solution to a problem. The computer program can also be capable of controlling the computer to upload the solution to the problem to a medium external of the computer. The computer program can also be capable of replacing variable elements with value elements to form solutions to problems.
Alternatively, a second computer program can be included, and it can be capable of linking the first set of information with the second set of information to form a solution to a problem. The second computer program can also be capable of controlling the computer to upload the solution to the problem to a medium external of the computer. The second computer program can also be capable of replacing variable elements with value elements to form solutions to problems.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.